NASD OTC Market Opens Week 1.23% Higher on CSCS Gains

By Adedapo Adesanya

The week kicked off on a positive note at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange with a 1.23 per cent growth and this was buoyed by gains in the equity price of Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc.

The rise in the security depository company’s share price pushed the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) up by 8.84 points during the session to 728.86 points from 702.02 points recorded at the previous session.

Business Post reports that CSCS gained N1.30 gain or 8.8 per cent to finish the day’s trading session at N14.80 per share in contrast to N13.50 per unit it closed at the last session.

This supported the N6.50 billion or 1.23 per cent rise in the market capitalisation, which closed on Monday at N535.40 billion in contrast to N528.90 billion it finished last Friday.

At the market yesterday, there were four deals executed compared with the single deal achieved during the preceding session.

A breakdown showed that Afriland Properties recorded two deals while FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc and CSCS Plc made one deal each.

However, there was a decline in the total number of shares transacted by investors by 34.2 per cent as 33,850 units were traded compared to 51,418 units at the previous session.

In the same vein, the total value of shares transacted at the session fell by 93.7 per cent to N210,975 from N3.3 million transacted at Friday’s session.

At the close of transactions, ARM Life Plc closed as the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 7.4 billion units worth N4.6 billion, CSCS Plc was in second place with 202.9 million units valued at N2.7 billion, while Food Concepts Plc traded 125.1 million units worth N88.1 million.

In terms of the most traded stock by value (year-to-date), ARM Life Plc maintained the top position with 7.4 billion units of its shares traded for N4.6 billion. Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc was in second place with 8.8 million units traded at N2.7 billion, while CSCS Plc settled in the third spot with N2.7 billion realised from selling 202.9 million units of its securities.